How can good design boost healthcare?

THE first cohort of students for the Design Academy have begun their study at Manchester School of Art.

Design Academy is a partnership between the Design Council and six UK universities to provide an intensive design education.

Over the course of four to six weeks, students will be immersed in a project considering how design practices can be applied to tackling major social and economic challenges relating to healthcare. The project is part of a new Design Council initiative, Design for Care, which aims to create a care system that is more personalised, more connected and more preventative.

Students will also gain industry insights from leading practitioners in the digital and public sectors, including IBM, the Cabinet Office and Hyper Island.

Unique opportunity

Joe McCullagh, Head of Design at Manchester School of Art, said: “I am really excited to see 30 of our students from across the design department working together on the societal challenge of Design for Care. Working with the Design Council is a unique opportunity for our students to develop further their strategic design thinking. They are using a design process that is used by the Design Council when working with a whole range of national and international organisations.

“In just two weeks they will be presenting their ideas at The Design Council headquarters to a panel of experts from Design for Care, IBM and the Cabinet Office. Having been in the Design Council student workshops this week it is clear that our students are enjoying and finding rewarding this design challenge.”

Golden era

Bel Reed, Programme Manager–Education & Skills at the Design Council, said: “Design Academy comes at an important but equally challenging moment for design education.

“We’re seeing a golden era for design with recent figures from our research, Design Economy, showing for the first time the significant contribution it makes to the UK, generating 7.2% of total GVA. From 2009 to 2013, the design economy grew at a faster rate than the UK average. Our research also showed that for businesses which invest and use design strategically, the output per employee is greater.

“Strategic design capability is a fundamental requirement for business and innovation leaders today and in the future, as the needs of business and the public sector become increasingly complex and the challenges they are tackling require a more integrated response from design.

“This strongly suggests it is more important than ever before for graduating design students to understand and build their capability in strategic design in order to stand out from the crowd.”